Subject to Change
by piepinkie3
Summary: When tragedy strikes and Misaki Tsukino finds herself within the gates of a village that she isn't native to, she makes the best of a bad situation and works to further her goals of becoming the best that she can be. Who knew it would be so difficult?
1. Chapter 1

**DISCLAIMER**: I don't own Naruto and it's characters, nor the canon plot! Enjoy the story and let me know what you think!

Living in the ninja world… Well, let's just say that it isn't easy. It's a job that is definitely appealing in hindsight, with the thought of potentially saving someone's life, fighting off the bad guys to protect someone important to you. Though they sound wonderful, these thoughts are the epitome of naivety. The work of a real ninja is infinitely more complicated than any civilian could ever have thought. It's a job that weighs on your heart and mind. It's a job that not only exercises your muscles to make you stronger, but your brain as well and how it reacts to different situations. It changes you more mentally than it does physically. Much, much more. Ninjas have to face the most difficult of decisions in their line of work. Sacrificing themselves for the good of the mission or the well-being of their teammates is only one example. I had no desire to become a ninja, but that's another lesson that ninjas know all too well: people don't always get what they want.

Growing up in Tsukigakure, the Village Hidden under the Moon, I was a fairly laidback child. I led a normal civilian life, with a normal family that was not especially significant, and normal friends. It was easy to get used to, and this didn't bother me in the least. I was born into the Tsukino family by Manami Tsukino, my mother, and Kenko Tsukino, my father. I carried the trademark silver hair and purple eyes of my family, being born without these trademarks was seen as an omen among the Tsukino. They named me Misaki after my grandmother who had recently passed away, and got to work with raising me. My parents had yet another child when I turned three, Ikuto, who also carried our family's trademarks, and I was gifted with a baby brother. "Gifted" is a word that I use lightly, however. The child gave me hell, and I was jealous of the attention that my parents showered upon their young son. Being the blunt child that I was, when I vocalized this to my father, the only thing I received in response was a hearty laugh, and a gentle kiss upon my forehead.

When my fourth birthday came around, I was delighted at the fact that I was growing ever older. On this day I was introduced to Miki, a cat that my parents had gifted to me. She was a small thing, barely fitting into the palm of my hand when they gave her to me. She had fur of solid grey, and eyes of deep blue, and around her neck she wore a bow symbolizing her as my birthday gift. I was delighted, to say the absolute least, and I amused my parents greatly as I let out a loud shriek in delight, scaring the small kitten under our burgundy couch in the living room. I childishly pouted throughout the two days that she stayed hidden from me out of fear.

The next year went smoothly, nothing notable happened other than the fact that I knew I would be starting school soon. The concept unnerved me. I had friends that would be attending the same civilian school since most of them weren't fit to become ninja, so I had no idea what had me so chilled. It must have been the idea of change, which was always something that I had always shunned. I wanted everything to stay the same, easy and all, as long as I lived.

It was a fool's wish.

"Miki, c'mon! It's almost time for dinner! Mommy and Daddy are gonna be mad if we're late!" The small kitten had grown into a full-grown cat, but still retained its big, owlish blue eyes. I glared up at the curious cat from the bottom of the large tree, my arms angrily crossed across my chest. "Miki, don't make me come up there for you!" Miki seemed to upturn her head at me as she climbed further up the bulky tree. "Alright, that's it!" I uncrossed my arms and sprang into action as I grabbed the trunk of the tree and slowly started to work my way up. "You're gonna be sorry, Miki!" I started to lose my annoyed expression to a look of exasperated playfulness as I climbed the tree ever slowly to catch the feline.

Labored in breathing, I looked up through the leafy branches to spot Miki, but she wasn't where she was before. "Hmm," I hummed in curiosity before I climbed a bit further up the trunk to get a better look at the top of the tree.

I got no warning as I heard a cat's screech and something heavily landing on my head. My feet started to slip, and I had no choice but to release my grip on the tree. "AHHHH!" My yells were synchronized with the screeching coming from Miki as we both tumbled towards the grassy earth. Hitting the hard ground knocked the breath out of me sharply, and my back ached from the impact. Groaning, I looked around for the pest that caused this accident. Sitting up from my laid-back position, I saw that she sat by the base of the tree, licking her paw, seemingly innocent in nature.

I glared at the beast, and rubbed my throbbing back as I slowly came to a standing position. "Enjoy the ride? Brat." She gave a short mocking meow in my direction as I groaned in exasperation. I stretched the ache out of my back until it was just a dull pain before I beckoned Miki in my direction.

"Let's go home, Miki. We're late, thanks to you." My comment was followed by a short meow.

Approaching my small family house with Miki upon my shoulder, I realized that everything was eerily quiet. There was no sounds of chatter between my parents, or the annoyed exclamations from my mom about me being late for dinner again. I heard nothing. I figured that maybe they had had a long day, and took an early night. I shrugged my shoulders and stepped towards the front door of the quiet house. It was only when I saw the door slightly open that I began to have suspicions.

I looked to Miki and held a finger to my lips, gesturing her to be quiet, as I slowly opened the door all the way, allowing me to slip inside. I smelled the faint scent of dinner, and sighed in relief as I started towards the kitchen. Mom was cooking, everything was okay. Miki swiftly jumped from my shoulder onto the floor with a silent thump, and I started at a brisk pace towards the kitchen. I turned into the kitchen doorway, a cheerful smile gracing my face.

"I smell Ramen! I can't wait to –," My words died on my lips as I opened my eyes to see my mother lying on the floor of the kitchen. The ramen on the stove boiled over the edge of the pot, and began to make a small puddle on the around the pot. I took a few steps towards my mother, but when I didn't see her move, I ran quickly to her side. "Mommy?!"

I cradled her face, and brushed her long silver hair out of her eyes. Her lavender eyes stared into mine, but they were unmoving. "Mom!" I shook her softly, trying to wake her. I stopped the shaking when I felt a wetness begin to wash over my pant legs. Glancing down, I widened my eyes when I saw that a large pool of blood was flooding from my mother's torso. I began to cry, the tears falling freely from my eyes onto the body before me.

My noisy cries were hushed when I heard a banging noise coming from inside my father's office room. In a panic, I scooted back against the wall of the kitchen to peek through the doorway into the hallway. It is at this moment that Miki joined me, hopping onto my shoulder, with a mourning look in her large blue eyes. I sharply jumped when I heard another unmistakable bang come from inside the office, before I heard the voices of two men.

"I can't find it, damn it! Where would they be hiding it?"

"Why are you asking me? Just keep looking! We should have tried to get answers out of them before we killed them both."

I gasped, before covering my mouth in shock. I let more tears fall before I realized what the second man had said. He had mentioned that he killed "both." If so, either my father or little brother was still alive. I quivered in panic as I heard the door to the office open, and scrambled onto all fours to quickly crawl into the living room, Miki following closely behind. It didn't seem to be fast enough, though.

"Well, well, well… What do we have here?" I let out a strangled yell as the back of my sleeveless top was seized in a tight grip and I was lifted off of the ground. Miki angrily hissed at the man who held me captive, and his attention switched to the small beast under my feet. "Shut up, beast." The man lifted his foot and angrily kicked Miki, sending her across the room. She hit the wall, and fell to the floor, painful groaning resonating from her mouth.

"Miki! No!" I squirmed within the man's grasp, and cried harder when I could barely move. The first man watched the events unfold from the sidelines. The man who was holding me let out a dark laugh and turned me to face him, switching his grip to the front of my shirt.

"Stop moving, you little brat." I promptly quit squirming, in fear that he would kill me had I not followed his orders. The tears still fell swiftly from my eyes, not just out of fear, but sadness too. "There you go. Now, tell me. Where does the Tsukino family keep their inheritance, little girl? If you tell me, maybe I won't kill you like I did your parents." So that confirmed it. They were both dead. It didn't seem like it was possible, but the tears fell even harder.

"It's all behind the picture in my father's office. All of it! Take it! Just leave me alone and don't kill me, please!" I wailed loudly and shook in fear as the man sent me a greedy smile.

The first man promptly disappeared into the hallway, presumably to go and collect my family's inheritance. The smile on the second man's face never left, as he stared me in my wide and fearful eyes. "Thanks for the information, girl. If the money isn't there, be sure that I'll come back to finish the job." The man let a short laugh pass through his lips following his threat, as he quickly threw me at the wall. The world became blurry as I slid to the floor, and eventually, it disappeared into black.

**A/N**: The next chapter will be out soon! Review and let me know what you think, or if you have any tips for me. :)


	2. Chapter 2

DISCLAIMER: I don't own Naruto and it's characters, nor the canon plot! Enjoy and let me know what you think!

My head pounded fiercely as my vision came back to me. I heard a soft meow, and I turned my throbbing head to the right to see Miki rubbing on my arm. As soon as I sat up, everything came back to me. Mom. Dad. The two thieves that almost killed me… And Ikuto!

Despite the sharp pain that wracked my body, I shot up and took off into the hallway towards the back room. I was hoping, wishing, praying, that my little brother was still within his room. Miki trailed shortly behind me, and I turned my head away from my father's office as I passed. I didn't want to see what damage they had done to my father. Sharp tears stung my eyes and prickled my vision, as I came to face the door to my brother's room.

I whimpered softly as I quietly opened the door, to be greeted by my brother sleeping softly in his crib. I let out a huge sigh of relief before I grabbed his favorite blanket and settled him upon my left hip. When he began to cry loudly, I tried my best to calm him, before heading to the front door of my house. Miki jumped up to lounge on my shoulders as I used my foot to slide the front door completely open. I walked outside to be greeted by the cold dark. I had no idea what I was going to do. If I told the village leader about what had taken place, they might send my brother and I to an orphanage, potentially separating us. I would be separated from Miki, as well. I wasn't going to let that happen.

It took some serious thought, but I figured that leaving the village for good seemed the best option. If there was another option, I would have definitely taken it, but I didn't want to be separated from Ikuto. Miki upon my shoulders, my sleeping brother resting on my hip, my six year old self quietly crept to the main village gate.

One night in the wilderness was all it took for me to wish that I had the hospitality of home. I missed my parents dearly, I was hungry so I knew Ikuto and Miki were too, it was cold, not to mention raining, and I had no shelter besides the trees, and nothing to eat besides vegetation. I had no idea how to hunt, and nothing to even hunt with, so that clearly wasn't an option. Thinking back, I should have gathered supplies before I left, but I hadn't really thought ahead. I growled at my stupidity, and quickly thought about what I was going to do. If it carried on this way, not only would Ikuto die, but I would die as well. I thought about having Miki go catch us something, but even if she did, I wouldn't know how to prepare a creature to eat and eating it raw would potentially cause sickness. Plus, I didn't know how to build a fire from scratch.

I held my brother in my lap as I covered his face to shield him from the rain that fell through the leaves and branches above us. I leaned my head against the tree and shut my eyes, allowing myself to rest for the first time after leaving the Village Hidden under the Moon.

Snapping my eyes sharply open a few hours later, I let out a fierce scream that ached my throat when I saw a stranger standing in front of me. He had his arms crossed over his chest, surveying the scene. He didn't seem to be dangerous, he wasn't holding any weapons, but I wasn't going to take that chance. I shot up to my feet, startling Ikuto into wake, and took off into the woods. Miki hopped up onto my shoulder, so that she wouldn't be left behind, and I panted deeply as I ran farther and farther into the wilderness.

I must have ran about ten minutes straight before I stopped. I wanted to put as much distance between us and the stranger as I could. Panting deeply, I stopped and crouched into the brush. I had to quiet Ikuto from his screaming rampage so that I could listen for the strange man.

Silence.

I turned my head slightly to the left to glance at Miki on my shoulder. "I think we lost him, Miki."

"Is that so?"

I immediately froze in panic when I heard the unfamiliar voice behind me. Eyes wide with fear, I slowly turned around to come face-to-face with the same man that had scared me into the woods. This was the only time I had actually got to take in his appearance. The man was tall and thin, his head covered with locks of spiky silvery-white hair. He wore a navy blue jumpsuit under a dark green flak jacket, and traditional navy blue sandals. I looked to his face to see… Not very much at all, actually. He wore a mask that covered the bottom half of his face, and he wore a ninja headband over his left eye, leaving me only with a view of his right eye, which seemed to be half-closed in a lazy manner. The symbol on his ninja headband wasn't of the Moon Village, so I assumed that he was an enemy ninja. I let out another strong scream, before turning back and trying to run the way I had come. The only thing keeping me from doing so was the man's hand, restraining me with a handful of the back of my shirt.

"Not so fast."

The man turned me around gently, which seemed strange of an enemy ninja, but I was too panicked to think anything of it. Miki was enraged, desperately trying to swat the intruder's hand away from me, which worked when she finally landed a hit, causing the man to mutter a loud 'Ow!' and a giggle brushed through my brother's lips. Rubbing the hand that had been clawed, the man crouched in front of me slowly, annoyed.

"What are you doing out here in the middle of nowhere?"

I sniffled and rubbed my eyes before looking the man in the single eye that I could see. "I had to come here."

This seemed to confuse the man for a time as he seemed to be working thoughts through his head. After a time, he spoke up again. "Why? Do you come from the Moon Village?" I glared at the strange man, but he didn't seem fazed by the "intimidating" gesture.

"I don't talk to strangers!"

My comment seemed to humor him greatly, because the corner of his visible eye crinkled in amusement and under the mask, his lips upturned into a smile. This only angered me further. "What's funny?!" He chuckled deeply before returning to his full height, leaving me to look up with his tall stature.

"Where are your parents?" My annoyed expression faded, as I glanced to my brother settled on my hip, playing with a fistful of my hair. I didn't answer the man, as he was a complete stranger and Mommy and Daddy had always warned me not to converse with strangers. This man was a ninja from another village, which was a double no-no. He sighed softly, causing me to switch my gaze back to his unemotional and lazy visible eye. "I'm not going to hurt you. I promise."

Not having the option of going back to the village, and no one to run to, not to mention the fact that we would all die if we stayed lost in the wilderness, I figured that maybe the man could help us. We hadn't eaten in a day, and we were all hungry, not to mention freezing from the cold climate of the areas around the Moon Village. Unwilling to trust the stranger, I narrowed my eyes at the tall ninja before me. "My Mommy and Daddy died yesterday. They were killed by some weird men looking for our money, so I ran."

Silence.

"Did you report this to the village leader?"

I huffed and shook my head from side-to-side.

"And why not?"

Heaving my brother more onto my hip, I was silent for a few seconds before replying to the stranger whose name was still a mystery to me. "He would send us to the mean lady at the orphanage and Ikuto, Miki, and I would be separated."

The man was expressionless, though he released a soft 'Hmm' from his lips in deep thought.

This strange man sure did think a lot.

"Come with me."

I was shocked at the suggestion, and watched the man as he started to walk towards the path I had run off of. I sent a short glance to Miki, who gave me a suspicious meow, before heading towards the strange man. Catching up to him, I saw that he had pulled a book out of somewhere and was intently reading. I curiously tried to see what was within the pages of the book he was reading, but he seemed to tell that I was trying to peek. He repositioned the book so that I couldn't view it, and continued reading.

If he was planning on leading me back to the village, he didn't voice this. I was astounded at the way that he didn't even have to look where he was going to walk and avoid the obstacles in our path. In fact, I hadn't seen him take his face out of his book since he had pulled it out.

"Where are we going?"

His eyes still on the pages of his book, he quickly responded. "Konoha. The Village Hidden in the Leaves."

"And what if I don't want to go there?"

I was surprised when my question actually caused him to pry his eyes away from the little orange book. He stopped walking, poked my forehead with his index finger, a closed-eye smile upon his face. I glared, while my brother giggled. Miki released a single meow from her perch on my right shoulder. "Well, let's put it this way: I'm not really giving you a choice in the matter."

He continued back on his way, his eyes trained back on the little orange book. I followed closely behind, glaring and aggravated.

**A/N**: It's slow moving now, but it'll pick up the pace soon! Next chapter is Konoha! Don't forget to review and let me know what you think. :)


	3. Chapter 3

**DISCLAIMER**: I am not the owner of Naruto and it's characters, nor the canon plot. I hope you enjoy!

The Hidden Moon village must have been quite a long distance from the Hidden Leaf village because on the third night of travel, the four of us still hadn't reached the Village Hidden in the Leaves. The man who was escorting me, introduced as Kakashi Hatake, a jounin from the Hidden Leaf village, was mostly quiet throughout the journey, but he provided Miki, Ikuto, and I with food and water so it didn't really bother me overmuch. I was content to just let him read whatever it was that he read, which must have been the most interesting book in the world because he had barely stopped reading other than to eat and rest. The one time I questioned him about what he was reading, he left me confused but also curious.

_"What are you reading?" Miki had long since abandoned my shoulders in favor of walking on the rocky path we were travelling on. Ikuto sat upon my shoulders, examining his surroundings in fervor, vocally exclaiming when he saw something exciting, which was about every minute or so. When the silver-headed jounin didn't answer my question, I curiously inched closer to his side, trying to sneak a peek over his arm at the small words on the page. Extending his left hand, he used it to lightly push me away from his side, keeping me from sating my curiosity._

_"It's a book for grownups."_

_"I'm grown! I'm six now!" I crossed my arms and pouted, wincing when Ikuto grabbed a fistful of my hair and pulled harshly. "Ikuto, quit!"_

_All Kakashi did was shake his head, seemingly amused._

There was also the time I had asked about his mask.

_"Why do you wear a mask?"_

_"Why do you ask so many questions?"_

_Annoyed and aching from walking so far, I was being childishly aggravating. Well, more than I usually was… But the silent ninja didn't seem to be bothered by it. He just avoided most of my questions, which naturally caused me to be even more curious about the ninja who was leading me to a place I didn't even knew existed._

_"Why do you avoid answering all my questions?"_

_"That's another question."_

_Huffing and exasperated to the point of no return, I crossed my arms and silenced myself, following in the strange ninja's footsteps, Ikuto resting quietly upon my shoulders._

I had never carried an interest in becoming a ninja since none of my family had ever had any interest in it, but seeing the silver-haired jounin in action inspired excitement within me. He was quick and agile on his feet, and he knew things about survival that kept us all alive, well fed, and well rested on our long journey. It was inspiring, and I instantly wanted to become more educated on the occupation of a ninja.

Of course, the quiet time of travel also caused my thoughts to wonder, and most of said thoughts weren't pleasant in nature. The death of my parents, traveling with a ninja that I barely knew to a land that was completely foreign to me were both things that ate away at my insides. I tried to keep my thoughts at bay, because crying in front of the man whom I travelled with would completely embarrass me. I didn't want him to think I was a little crybaby. I was thoroughly depressed over all that I had gone through, but I tried my best to keep it hidden. Kakashi never once asked about anything that happened that night, or anything personal at all other than general introductions, which was completely fine with me. Talking about what had happened would probably only make things worse.

"Are we almost there?"

Quite a while back, I had started to notice the subtle changes in scenery. But where we were now, the vegetation was completely different from the areas around the Moon Village. The areas around the Moon Village were rocky and dusty, and where we were walking, the only thing dusty and rocky was the path beneath our feet. Around us, stood a large, dense forest, and above us birds flew by the flock, the sunlight filtering through the thin clouds that floated comfortably in the sky.

"Closer than you think, actually." Kakashi promptly snapped his reading material closed, and stored it in a pouch on his pant leg. Gesturing in front of him, I looked around him to see a large gate leading into a peaceful-looking village. Engraved on the main gate that led the way into the innermost walls of the village was the same symbol that Kakashi wore on his ninja headband.

So, this was the "Konoha" that Kakashi had told me about: the Village Hidden in the Leaves.

I had mixed feelings on the whole affair. The first feeling, the one that was most prominent, was that I was undoubtedly nervous about being introduced to a new village. Especially one that I knew nothing about. In the Moon Village, I knew what to expect. I knew what people I would see every day; I knew where everyone lived; I knew where safe spots were if I was ever in a dangerous situation.

I knew none of these things about Konoha.

Secondly, besides Kakashi, I didn't know anything about Konoha's residents. Any and all of the friends I had ever made resided within the Moon Village. It's not that I had problems making friends, it was just that I had no idea how the residents of another village would react to me. I hoped it wasn't negatively.

Thirdly, it was a tremendous change from my old life. I didn't know where I would stay, how I would be educated, or how I would go about daily life without the guidance of my parents. I had always been dependent of them to take care of my needs. But, I wasn't too young to understand that I could never have them back. I knew how death worked. It was awful, heartbreaking, and frightening, but it was eternal. They were gone.

Kakashi seemed to notice how my steps faltered in hesitancy as we grew closer and closer to Konoha's main gate, and he urged me forward encouragingly. I appreciated how friendly he was acting towards me, even if he never sated my curiosity or gave me a straight answer for the five days I had known him. As we passed through the towering stone gate, I realized that not only was I nervous, I was frightened as well. What if they ultimately decided to toss Ikuto, Miki, and I out of the village? I would surely die if that happened, and death was something I definitely wanted to avoid for as long as I could. Plus, I had a little brother to look out for, and I certainly wasn't going to give up on him.

Walking through the busy streets, I stayed silent and avoided eye contact with as many people as possible. I felt awkward and unwanted. It wasn't something that I was used to. Ikuto stared in wonder at the foreign environment, and Miki was effortlessly keeping up with our brisk pace, gracefully weaving between the feet of the people that passed us.

I noticed that Kakashi often passed people that he knew, waving and greeting many. I even saw several ninja with the same headband that Kakashi wore as we delved deeper into the heart of the lively village. It was peaceful, but alive at the same time, and it was completely alien to me.

Kakashi kept up the brisk pace as we passed a bridge which underneath flew a vast river, crystal blue in color. Looking up, I saw a large mountain, complete with the faces of four men. Before the mountain stood a tall, bulky building, complete with a red roof. This seemed to be Kakashi's destination, as he urged me forward up the steps that wrapped around the building. This seemed to be a building of great importance in the village, and the feeling of nervous bubbling in my chest grew tenfold.

We came to a stop in front of a door that was flanked by two guards, each of them a ninja, complete with their headbands. They wore a dark green flak jacket similar in appearance to Kakashi's. I zoned out of the conversation between the two guards and the silver-haired jounin in favor of admiring the view of the village that I had due to the high elevation of the building. I was still skeptical of the fact that I was in an environment that was strange to me, but I couldn't deny that it appealed to me in a way.

"Misaki."

Kakashi's voice startled me out of my reverie, and I swiveled back around to face the same large door from before, but it was now open, the two guards off to the side, allowing us entrance. Ikuto on my shoulders and Miki hot on my heels, I followed Kakashi into the open door. Walking through the hallway of the large unfamiliar building, I suffered several curious and suspicious glances, only deepening my feelings of uneasiness. Eventually, Kakashi came to a halt in front another large, more ornate, double door. Knocking quickly, Kakashi only opened the door when we heard a soft greeting from the other side.

"You may enter."

Kakashi allowed me entry before him, and when I met the eyes of the elderly individual inside of the large room, he seemed confused by my presence. Kakashi stalked into the room immediately behind me, and came to a stop in front of the old man, bowing in respect.

"Hokage-sama."

I vaguely remembered hearing my parents speak of a Hokage and a large battle before at dinner one night, but my child mind quickly grew bored and I zoned out of their conversation.

This man was apparently a man of great power and authority, and I was embarrassingly shy in front of such a figure. I looked to the ground, keeping my gaze on my furry pet, and didn't look up until I heard the man speak again.

"Kakashi. Who might these young children be?"

Kakashi placed a hand on my head, answering the Hokage in his lazy tone of voice. "I came across these three on my previous mission, alone in the woods around the Village Hidden under the Moon."

The Hokage took in the expression on what he could see of the jounin's face, and gestured to one of his personal guard whom I didn't even realize were in the room with us. The one closest to the Hokage, a man brown of hair with a strange scar upon his left cheek and over the bridge of his nose, bowed deeply before addressing his leader in a strong voice. "Yes, Hokage-sama?"

"Raidō, please escort this young girl and her companions into the hallway outside of my room. It will only be a few minutes."

"As you wish, Lord Hokage."

Ikuto, Miki, and I were gently lead outside to wait in the hallway while the Hokage and Kakashi conversed in private. I quietly wondered why he was hesitant to talk in front of me, but I definitely wasn't going to confront him and ask him why.

As the Hokage had said, it was only about five minutes that we were left waiting outside before he ordered the guard named Raidō to lead us back in the room to face him. There were no questions, pitied comments, or suspicious glances from the Hokage as I came to stand in front of his desk. There was just a small smile present on his elderly face as he said something that caused mixed emotions to stir inside of me.

"I think we can find a place for you and your companions."

**A/N**: I hope you enjoyed the story! Please review and let me know what you think! :)


	4. Chapter 4

**DISCLAIMER**: I don't own Naruto and it's characters, nor the canon plot. I hope you enjoy!

"Go on."

I stared wide-eyed at the large town-house in front of me. It was quite a large building, white in color with a navy blue roof that sat atop it. The Hokage had informed me that I would be residing in the home of recently registered foster parents. The Hokage had said something about them not being able to have kids of their own, so he believed this to be the perfect opportunity for them. The Hokage had ordered one of his personal guard to send word to the family beforehand, and had personally led me to the home of the family himself.

The Hokage stood patiently by my side, waiting for me to take the steps leading to the black front door. I shot an unsure look to the powerful man at my side, but he just sent me an encouraging smile, lifting some of my concerns. With Ikuto at his usual place on my shoulders, I rose my small fist, and delicately knocked on the large door, waiting for an answer from the other side.

A few seconds passed before I heard a muffled yell from the other side of the door I stood in front of. "Honey, they're here! Make sure that the table is set, please!"

When the door swiftly opened, I was greeted by a young woman, who was obviously thrilled to see us standing there. She was short, but tan of skin, and wore her shoulder-length chocolate brown hair down around her content face. Her emerald green eyes shone as she graciously allowed the four of us entrance, bowing when the Hokage made his way in.

"Hokage-sama, I can't tell you how much I appreciate you doing this for me and Gakushi. They're beautiful children."

The young woman smiled down Ikuto and I as she brushed a lock of my silver hair behind my ear. She giggled slightly when she saw Miki sitting by my feet. "And I suppose this is the 'furry company' you mentioned in your message, Hokage-sama?" The elderly man chucked deeply and nodded, as the young woman scratched the cat between the ears, causing her to purr in deep content. I giggled at the action, and trailed after the woman as she led us into a spacious dining room, inside which contained a young man with short black hair, pale skin, and deep blue eyes furiously trying making sure everything was in place upon the table. When he noticed that he had company in the room with him, he was startled but soon his shocked face matched his wife's one of joy. He bowed deeply to the Hokage who stood next to us and stepped up to his wife's side to wrap an arm around her waist.

"We're so glad to have this opportunity, Lord Hokage. Would you do us the honor of joining us for lunch? We've prepared curry and rice for the occasion." The Hokage graciously accepted, and we all sat down in our appropriate seats. The young woman, who had introduced her and her husband as Gakushi and Katsuko Sakamoto and received our names in return, placed a bowl of cream down for Miki, and took her place next to Ikuto.

I was in bliss eating the food that the young couple had prepared for us. It was delicious. They certainly knew how to prepare a meal. I was mostly quiet throughout lunch, answering questions when I was prompted. I mostly used the time to observe my new house-mates. They had been married for at least a few years, and I could tell that they loved each other very much like Mommy and Daddy had. I watched Gakushi-san as he smiled softly at his young wife, who was feeding spoonful after spoonful of delicious rice to Ikuto. Miki had finished her cream, and slept soundly on the floor beneath my chair.

When lunch was over, and the dishes had been cleaned from the table, the Hokage had the young couple fill out mine and Ikuto's citizenship paperwork, and left back to his office and his duties as the village leader. The nerves began to bubble inside of me once again after he had taken his leave. I hoped Gakushi and Katsuko were nice when the Hokage wasn't around, too. My worries seemed to be in futile as Katsuko turned to face me, kneeled in front of me and pulled me into a warm hug.

"I'm so glad you're here. How about we go do a little shopping? You need new clothes, right? And we have to fix you up for school. We'll clean you and Ikuto up and then we can head out, alright?"

I smiled at the woman before me, who returned my smile with a cheerful one of her own. She gathered Ikuto from her husband, informing him that she was going to clean us up, and held her hand out for me to take. Placing my hand in hers, I felt at ease for the first time in a long time.

….

"How about we get you some new clothes first?"

I enthusiastically nodded at the suggestion. I had always adored shopping. I was a girl.

Katsuko held Ikuto firmly on her hip, her left hand locked with mine, and Miki lounged on my left shoulder as we made our way through the streets of Konoha. This was another perfect opportunity for me to view my new surroundings and people-watch. Watching the way people communicated and acted was a hobby of mine, and since it was something I was constantly doing, it gave me the talent of being able to read people reasonably well, despite my young age.

Weaving through the people that bustled through the streets of the lively village, I spotted a young boy running in my direction, seemingly evading a man whom was chasing him. The young child, who seemed to be about my age if not a tad bit younger, was clad in a simple white tee-shirt with a red swirl design on his chest complete with plain black pants and ninja sandals. He had deep, crystal blue eyes, and atop his head sat a mop of messy blonde hair. He laughed feverishly, as the man tried to catch up to him. I stopped walking, halting Katsuko, in favor of watching the commotion, along with most of the other people that stood around us.

"NARUTO! WAIT TILL I GET MY HANDS ON YOU!"

This only made the boy laugh harder, as he glanced back at the man following behind him. "You're never gonna catch me, old man!"

I watched the chase until the two disappeared, and glanced back up at my guardian to see that she didn't really seem surprised. I heard several of the people around us talk about the boy, calling him "dangerous" or "a monster" which only made me curious, but I didn't ask any questions as we started back on our path.

….

"Well, now that we have all the clothes that you need, how about we go and set you up for school?"

I nodded my consent, and followed her all the way back to the large building in the heart of Konoha. We took the stairs that wrapped around the large building again, and were allowed into the building by the two guards that flanked the double doors. I thought we were heading back to the Hokage's office again, but we walked past his office to come to another door. Walking through the doors, we came into a room that had about a dozen ninja sitting in desks around the room, tending to paperwork. Katsuko led me to a desk in the back, and engaged the ninja working the desk in conversation. Having nothing better to do, I listened in.

"I need an enrollment sheet for Konoha Civilian Academy, please."

Hearing this, I went back to some of my earlier thoughts of when I had been traveling with Kakashi. He had been so fast, so agile, and so quick-thinking. I would have been lying if I had said that it all didn't appeal to me. I wanted to be agile, as well. And strong. I reached up and tugged on Katsuko's shirt before she could accept the paperwork from the ninja before her.

She seemed stunned by what I voiced next.

"I want to go to the Ninja Academy."

**A/N**: So, what do you think? Review and let me know! :) Next chapter will be out soon! This one was kind of short, but the next will be longer, I promise! I'm just trying to get Misaki settled.


	5. Chapter 5

**DISCLAIMER**: I don't own Naruto or it's characters, nor the canon plot. Enjoy and let me know what you think! :)

It took quite a long discussion between myself and Katsuko before I was able to convince her that being a shinobi was what I really wanted. Katsuko had warned me before gathering the enrollment paperwork that the work of a ninja wasn't easy, and I would most likely be worked beyond my capabilities, but I had insisted anyway. Katsuko finished filling out the paperwork, turned it in, and we headed out of the large building back into the bustling Konoha streets. Before we headed home, Katsuko stopped at a large bakery, one that she claimed her and Gakushi owned themselves, and picked us up some small treats to snack on, plus some dessert for after dinner that night. We picked up some furniture essentials for Ikuto, and pet essentials for Miki, and headed back to the place I now called home.

….

Getting into bed that night, my thoughts wandered and my nerves bubbled. I would start at the ninja academy the next day. Katsuko and Gakushi came into my room to bid me goodnight, but Katsuko stayed behind when she noticed the troubled look on my face.

"Hey, don't worry about it. I'm sure you'll make a ton of new friends." She smiled fondly at me, one that I didn't return. Making friends wasn't the only thing that ebbed away at my mind.

"That's not the only thing I'm worried about… What if it turns out that I don't have the skills to be a ninja and I just make myself look stupid in front of the other kids?"

She sighed deeply and pulled the covers over my small form, tucking me in. Miki jumped up onto the bed to curl up next to me, and Katsuko brushed silver locks out of my eyes tenderly. She shot me an encouraging smile as she did so. "It's going to be hard. They had to completely skip first year for you so you could be with your age group. That means the other kids will be ahead of you in training." I sighed in worry before she hushed me with a smile and continued. "But if it comes down to it, Gakushi and I will hire you a trainer to work with you after school hours."

At this, I perked up in excitement, causing her to let out a hearty laugh. I shot out to pull her into an enthusiastic hug, triggering her to giggle harder. When I released her, I gratefully thanked her.

"No problem. Now get to sleep, you have a long day ahead of you tomorrow and you need your rest." Nodding, I snuggled back into the blankets as Katsuko switched off the lights and left the room. My brain wouldn't allow me to sleep, though. I was too flustered and I was still trying to take in all that had happened to me in the past week. It was only a few days ago that my real parents were tucking me into bed, and now foster parents were doing it. When I started to tear up, I switched to the thought of school. I wasn't going to allow myself to cry. Shinobi didn't cry.

When my brain eventually became too overworked to function, I drifted off into a deep dreamless sleep.

….

"Wake up! It's time for your first day at the academy!"

Groaning in distaste, I groggily pulled my pillow over my head to block out the voice of the woman trying to wake me. I had always hated getting up early. Who didn't?

"Oh, no you don't!" The pillow was promptly removed from its perch atop my head, revealing my messy mop of silver hair and tired lavender eyes. "You have to get up for school!" Rubbing the sleep out of my eyes, Miki sat up and stretched and Katsuko headed to the door, turning back to giggle at my appearance. "Clean up and get dressed, I'll prepare your breakfast and your lunch for today."

I took a bath, got dressed, brushed my hair and teeth, and walked downstairs to enjoy the breakfast that was already upon the table. Gakushi sat at the table, a cup of coffee in his hands. When he noticed me, he smiled cheekily. "You ready for your first day?"

I shrugged indicating that I was half ready, half not ready. "I'm nervous."

I sat down at my place at the table, as Gakushi left to place his empty coffee cup and plate in the sink. "Everyone is nervous on their first day, it'll pass." He gave his wife a peck on the lips, and I turned away, disgusted. He came to give me a kiss on the top of my head, wished me good luck, and walked out the front door.

I looked to Katsuko curiously who sat a plate of food on the ground for Miki before joining me at the table. "Where's he going?"

"To the bakery. He has to work today." I nodded in understanding before I glanced around, looking for my brother. "Where's Ikuto?"

She took a long swig of the coffee that sat in front of her, and turned back to answer me. "He's asleep. He didn't have anything to wake up for, so I figured I would let him sleep for a little while longer."

My face twisted in annoyance, which only made Katsuko laugh. "If you keep making that face, it's gonna stick like that."

Hearing her words, I promptly released the aggravated look upon my face, and continued eating. She giggled harder before carrying her dishes to the sink. "Hurry up and finish, we have to leave soon."

….

Katsuko soon woke Ikuto, and the four of us left the house to walk to the Academy. When we sauntered into the large school, Katsuko filled out more paperwork so we would know what classroom I was to be in. When everything was processed and confirmed, I was told my classroom number. When I was told that I couldn't took Miki with me, I was irritated. I had always taken her with me, everywhere we went. Katsuko told me she would talk to the school about it, and wished me good luck as I was escorted down the hallway to my classroom.

Reaching classroom number 5, the woman escorting me promptly knocked, and waited for an answer from the other side. I fiddled with the bag I carried, anxious, until I heard the door open swiftly. The ninja that had opened it looked fairly young. He wore a dark green flak jacket like most of the shinobi I had seen in the village. He had tan skin, dark brown hair that he wore in a ponytail, a horizontal scar across the bridge of his nose, and a ninja headband across his forehead. He grinned widely when he noticed me standing next to the woman. He thanked her, and gently took me by the shoulders, ushering me into the room. The class was silent as I was presented in front of them.

The man who held me by the shoulders introduced himself as Iruka-sensei, before addressing the class who sat in the auditorium style seats in front of me. "Class, this is Misaki Tsukino, a student that comes from Tsukigakure, the Village Hidden under the Moon. Make her feel welcome!"

I was startled when a loud, energetic voice echoed about the room. "Cool! A new student!" I recognized the owner of the voice as the boy whom I had saw being chased on the street the day before. He had stood up from his desk to point at me in an enthusiastic manner, and I could feel my face heat up. I wasn't used to being put on the spot so forwardly. He stopped pointing at me in favor of gesturing to himself. "My name's Naruto Uzumaki! Believe it!" Iruka-sensei heaved his shoulders in a sigh before telling Naruto to take his seat, and led me to a seat near the middle of the classroom next to a timid-looking girl. She shyly smiled when I took my seat next to her, and I sent a small smile of my own her way.

"M-My name's Hinata. Hinata Hyūga."

I nodded her way, before setting my bag on the desk in front of me. "Nice to meet you, Hinata! My name's Misaki." The two of us smiled in greeting again, before Iruka-sensei quieted the class to start the lesson.

….

The first few hours of class bored me nearly to tears. I figured that we would spend all of our time learning jutsu, weapons training, and hand-to-hand combat, but that apparently didn't seem to be the case. When Iruka-sensei began to talk to us about chakra and how shinobi use such a power, my interest peaked. Chakra was the element of all shinobi, and if I wanted to be a great kunoichi, then I needed to know how to have great control over it. After a grueling four hours, we were released for lunch. Hinata, having been the only friend I had yet made that day, sat and ate with me. She was nice. Very insecure, but nice.

When I asked Hinata who our classmates were and for her to give each of their faces a name, she happily complied. The two that she pointed out first sat about five yards away from us in the school yard. One was lazily watching the clouds float by above, while the other dug hungrily into his food. She introduced them as Shikamaru Nara and Chōji

Akimichi. Following her gaze to a little left of Shikamaru and Chōji, I saw a two young girls, one with pink hair and one with blonde. Hinata said that their names were Ino Yamanaka and Sakura Haruno. Pointing out the other kids in the clearing, I now knew the names of most of the others: Shino Aburame, Kiba Inuzuka, Sasuke Uchiha, and several others. When Hinata's gaze fell over the blonde-haired boy, her face flushed and she sighed deeply. Noticing her reaction, I smirked knowingly, and shot her a michevious look along with a wink. "Somebody's got a crush, huh?"

Hinata sucked in a sharp breath, and flushed a deeper red at my realization. I just snickered, and waited for her to find her voice again. "That's N-Naruto. Naruto Uzumaki."

"Yeah, he said that today when I came into class. Why's he sitting by himself?"

Hinata's gaze lowered to the floor, forlorn. "He doesn't have many friends."

"Why?"

"I don't know why. Most of the parents tell their children to stay away from him and to not talk to him."

"Hmm. Well, I'm getting sad just looking at him. Let's go say hi."

Hinata gasped again and blushed, as I stood up, dusting the dirt off of my new clothes. "W-Wait!"

I stopped in my path and turned back to Hinata, whom was still at her place on the ground, hesitant. She seemed to be in the middle of some kind of inner conflict. I sent her an amused smile, before walking back to her, helping her off the ground. "C'mon, Hinata. Don't be a chicken."

Her eyes were wide as I escorted her over to the young boy who sat by himself. His lost expression switched to one of enthusiastic joy when I placed myself on the ground next to him, Hinata sitting down shortly after.

"Hey, Naruto." I sent the boy a cheerful smile, waving at him.

"Hey, guys!"

Hinata blushed as Naruto addressed us, and he looked curiously over at her. "Hey, what's wrong with your face, Hinata? It's really red!" She blushed harder and squeaked, as I tried to stifle my laugher at Naruto's muddled expression.

It would take time, but I could get used to being here.

**A/N**: I hope you enjoyed. :) I'm being detailed right now because I'm trying to get Misaki settled and everything. But things will start to speed up soon! Review and let me know what you think or if you have any suggestions/ideas for me. :)


	6. Chapter 6

**DISCLAIMER**: I do not own Naruto or it's characters, nor the canon plot. I hope you enjoy!

**A/N**: It's been a while since I've updated, but I've been super busy recently. I literally haven't had free time a single day lately. Hopefully this chapter is good enough to make up for that. :) I enjoyed writing this one.

**Himeno Kazehito**: Thank you! It was my goal to create a character that was likable. But that doesn't mean that she won't have conflicts with certain other characters. She's just going to become more complicated as the story continues, and I'm super excited for that. :) Thanks for being supportive, I really appreciate it!

…..

After lunch, the real work began. After Iruka-sensei had given us all about 30 minutes to let our food settle, he took us to one of the training grounds on campus and ordered us to all perform our respective stretch routines to loosen up for the coming physical part of the day. Iruka-sensei had informed us that flexibility was an important part of a shinobi career, maybe the most important part next to intellect. Most of the other students had already learned a stretch routine that was singular to their clan, so I was lost on what I should do. Hinata must have noticed that I felt awkward, so she offered to let me stretch with her. I was thankful that she was being so kind, but Hinata wasn't a person anyone would expect to be harsh.

The Hyūga stretch routine was difficult to perform, and I had messed up numerous times before it was over with. When everyone was done doing their own thing, Iruka-sensei gathered us up to tell us what the plan was.

"Today, we're going to run laps around the training yard until I say it's time to stop! On my mark!"

You don't hear many people saying this, but I loved to run. Back in the Moon Village, the other children used to challenge me to races when we were out playing. I would always oblige. I loved a good challenge. Most of the time, they hadn't beaten me. Running was a hobby, something that I liked to do when I had nothing else to do. Not many people shared my mindset. I smirked when I heard several students groan in protest. Iruka-sensei glared, causing most of the students to lose their attitude. I noticed that Shikamaru was still noticeably put-out.

"GO!"

Everyone took off at Iruka-sensei's yell.

…..

"Alright, class! We're done for the day. You can all head to the classroom to gather your stuff and you're dismissed."

None of us had the strength to respond, so we just followed his orders and entered the building to gather our stuff to leave. Walking out the front doors of the academy, I saw a group of parents waiting to pick their kids up for the day, Katsuko included. Miki purred happily when she saw me, and pounced up to land on my shoulder, meowing in greeting. I giggled when she rubbed against the side of my head. Looking back to Katsuko, I saw that Ikuto rested against her hip. Approaching her, she smiled her wide smile and ruffled my hair with her free hand.

"How was your day?"

"I'm tired."

She snickered and took my small hand in hers.

"I noticed."

"B-bye, Misaki."

I glanced over to where the timid voice had come from and grinned when I saw Hinata. "Bye, Hinata!" I noticed that she stood with a man, most likely her father, who had strange eyes similar to hers, and long dark hair. He watched the exchange emotionlessly. He intimidated me for some reason.

Katsuko began to lead me out of the academy grounds, but I stopped in my path when I saw Naruto sitting by himself on a swing on the far side of the yard. It was depressing to see someone that was so alone. I waited until he looked up to notice me before I smiled and waved goodbye from a distance. For some reason, it was even more disheartening to see the enthusiastic look on his face when this occurred to him. He eagerly waved back, a beam of his own on his face.

Katsuko led me out onto the Konoha streets, starting back to the place I now called home. "I have a surprise for you when we get home." I glimpsed up at Katsuko to see a soft smile across her face.

"Really?"

"Mhm."

The anticipation and exhilaration bubbled in my chest, and the rest of the path home was walked in silence.

…..

Walking into the house, I was immediately led to the living room to see Gakushi sitting with a man who was a stranger to me. I stopped in my path and looked suspiciously up at Katsuko who just pushed me forward encouragingly. Gakushi was the first to start talking. "Misaki, this is Yuito Yamamoto. He has agreed to train you outside of the academy."

Analyzing the man, I realized that he probably wasn't much older than my adoptive parents. He had dark brown hair that flowed just passed his shoulders, and sharp green eyes. He wore a blue sleeveless shirt that zipped up the middle, along with black baggy pants that ended mid-calf. He wore sandals, and I noticed that a Konoha ninja headband was tied around his right bicep. With wide eyes, I noticed the long sword he kept strapped to his back.

Gakushi continued to talk when no one interrupted. "He's a jounin level ninja from this village, and it just so happens that he's a regular customer at the bakery. He eats free at the bakery in exchange for training you."

Silence.

"He's training me to get free treats?"

The silence was broken by Katsuko's nervous laughter. "Well, you two should get better acquainted. You're free to use the backyard as long as you need." She aimed the last part at Yuito-sensei, who looked incredibly entertained. He stood and signaled me to follow him as he led the way into the backyard.

….

"What are you doing?"

"Reading your chakra signatures. I told you to be quiet."

I huffed and crossed my arms in protest as I tried to ignore the single finger placed upon my forehead. He had been like this for a while. Standing silently, eyes closed, and his right arm extended to rest a single finger in the middle of my forehead. I was started to get impatient. Soon enough, Yuito-sensei removed his finger from my forehead and smirked at the annoyed look on my face.

"Your chakra signatures read that you'll probably have a good affinity for water and lightning style jutsu."

My annoyed expression morphed back into excitement as his words processed. "Really?!"

"I just said so, didn't I?"

I showed him a glare as he shook his head slowly. "We'll start your real training tomorrow, so be ready."

I nodded and beamed with determination, triggering him to look seriously into my eyes. "It's not going to be easy. I agreed to train you, and I'm going to go through with it one-hundred percent."

I relaxed and listened as he continued his speech. "Growing up, I wasn't trained easy. Which only means that I'm going to be far from easy on you. I'm going to train you this way for one reason: results."

My body surged with determination.

"With no hard work, there comes no results. I will work you to the bone. They see great potential in you."

I assumed he meant Gakushi and Katsuko. I remained silent and waited for him to continue. "That's why I agreed to teach you." I smiled as he began to walk away, presumably heading back to wherever he slept at night. I cocked my head in confusion as he stopped in his path. "That, and that curry bread is just so delicious."

I let out an aggravated yell, removing my sandal and hurling it at the back of the man who was now training me. I swore I could hear him let loose a deep chuckle before vanishing in a puff of smoke.

**A/N**: And there we go! I hope you enjoyed it! The next one should be out soon! :) Review and let me know what you think! It's short, but I'm planning something for the next chapter that wouldn't fit if I put it in this one. The next will be longer!


	7. Chapter 7

**DISCLAIMER**: I don't own Naruto or it's characters, nor the canon plot. I hope you enjoy!

**A/N**: I've written this one in third person point-of-view just to see if I would like it, and I think I like it better than first person. What do you guys think? Enjoy! _Italics_ is a flashback, by the way.

"Concentrate."

"I'm trying, sensei!"

"Try harder."

Misaki's chest reverberated with an aggravated growl before falling quiet and focusing on where her sensei was hiding. Not only was she tasked with finding where Yuito-sensei was hidden, but she had to do it in the dark of night with her eyes closed.

Allowing her mind to clear of all thought, she extended the chakra that was available to her, using it to search her surroundings. Yuito-sensei wasn't kidding when he had said that he wasn't going to go easy on her. She was seven now, but this sort of training was better suited to more experienced kids. She wasn't complaining, however. She knew that it would pay off in the long run.

With a gasp of excitement, Misaki sensed a flicker of her sensei's chakra in one of the trees to her right. Pulling a shuriken out of the pack on her side, she flung it in the direction that she thought her sensei to be. Opening her eyes to see if it was the correct target, she just sighed when the clone disappeared. He had tricked her again.

"You're going to have to work on differentiating shadow clones from real people."

Turning to face her sensei, she crossed her arms. "How am I supposed to do that when the clone's signature is exactly like yours, sensei?"

"It's not. If you look deep enough, past the surface, it's different."

Misaki bowed to her sensei and returned to full height, sending him a nod and a smile. "Yes, Yuito-sensei."

The training session was interrupted when the cry of a hawk echoed throughout the training ground they were using for the meeting. It was a distress call. Iruka-sensei had educated them all on the different types of distress calls that were used in the Hidden Leaf Village. There were Green, Yellow, and Red alerts, each distinguished by how many calls the hawk released. The Green alert was three cries, and was used to summon the Jounin of the village to the Hokage. The Yellow was five cries, and was used to summon both the Jounin and Chunin to the Hokage's office. The Red was the highest security alert, seven cries. It sent the village into a state of lockdown and summoned ninja of all ranks to the Hokage's office to await orders. Tonight, the security alert was only a Green, but Yuito-sensei looked tense anyway as he said his goodbyes and left in a hurry toward the Hokage's office. Disheartened that her training session was cut short, but curious about the alert, Misaki took her leave of the training grounds.

….

Walking back into her house, Misaki was startled when she was pulled into a relived hug from Katsuko. It was only natural that she be worried. Even civilians were educated on the alerts that the village used so that they could prepare for evacuation if needed.

"I'm fine, mom. Really. It's only a Green." Misaki had felt that her adoptive parents had earned the right to be called mom and dad. Her and her brother had lived with the couple for a little over a year and they had done everything to make sure that they settled in well. They were Misaki's encouragement and security at the same time, and she was grateful for them. Katsuko released the young girl from her grasp and sent her a soft smile.

"I know, sweetie, but I still worry. Dinner's ready."

Misaki jump-started at the mention of food, and sauntered into the kitchen to be met with the delicious scent of dinner. Miki wove around her feet in greeting, and curled up under her chair to rest. Looks like she had already eaten. Ikuto sat in his seat, already in the process of scarfing down his food. He was four now, capable of speech and giving Misaki even more hell than he ever had before. She loved him all the same. Gakushi sat down when his wife took her place, and they began to eat.

…..

The next day at school, Misaki noticed that Sasuke Uchiha was absent. He wasn't someone who usually skipped out on class, so she thought this strange. Especially when he didn't show up the two days after that, as well.

Misaki brought the topic up during one of her after-school training sessions with Yuito-sensei. Performing the stretch routine that he had taught her, she sent a curious look in her sensei's direction. "Yuito-sensei?"

"Hmm?" He was leaned up against one of the trees in the training ground, using the shade it created to his advantage.

Finishing the last stretch of the routine, Misaki walked over to stand beside the relaxed man. "Do you know if there's anything wrong with Sasuke Uchiha? He's been absent from class for a few days."

Yuito's eyes met Misaki's inquisitive ones, as he placed a hand on her left shoulder and bent down to her level. "Do you remember the other night when the town was placed on an alert?" Yuito-sensei continued when Misaki answered his question with a nod. "Well, he's connected to the reason why."

"Is he okay?"

Yuito seemed to give a lot of thought to the question Misaki had asked. "Physically, yes. But he probably won't be as he once was."

"Why?"

"Have you heard of Itachi? Sasuke's older brother?"

Misaki remembered the younger Uchiha mentioning his older brother one day at the academy.

_"That's really cool!"_

_Misaki grinned as she hit the training dummy and followed up with a quick kick before turning to face the Uchiha boy by her side. "Thanks, Sasuke. My sensei taught me that, so really he's the one that's cool."_

_Misaki received a confused glance from Sasuke at the mention of her sensei. "Iruka-sensei?"_

_Misaki smiled and shook her head, before sending a few more punches to the dummy in front of her. "No, my parents hired a trainer to train me after school on weekdays."_

_"Oh. Well, that's still pretty cool."_

_Misaki nodded in gratitude at the boy as he performed his own taijutsu moves on the dummy next to hers. "Who teaches you, Sasuke? You didn't learn those moves from Iruka-sensei, either."_

_Sasuke smiled in pride as he glanced back over to the girl training by his side. "My brother, Itachi. He's probably the most powerful ninja I know, and he's really talented."_

_The two ceased their training in favor of taking a short break. Each of them picked up the water bottles that students were required to carry while practicing any kind of jutsu. Iruka-sensei must have had a bad experience with dehydration to require such a thing, but it certainly wasn't something to complain about. "You've never mentioned your brother before."_

_"Really?" Misaki shook her head to answer the young boy's question before he continued speaking. "Well, he's great. I'm going to be just like him when I get older."_

_"I'd like to meet him." Sasuke looked to Misaki in shock, before matching her smile with one of his own._

_"Sure."_

"Yeah, I remember Sasuke mentioning him during training one day. He said that he wanted to be just like Itachi and he was going to take me to meet him."

Yuito-sensei closed his eyes and sighed before releasing Misaki's shoulder in favor of leaning against the tree once more. "Itachi murdered his entire clan that night, leaving only Sasuke alive."

Misaki inhaled deeply in shock, but kept her eyes on her sensei to be sure that it wasn't just a cruel joke of some sort.

"We were called to search the village for Itachi, but he had fled and there was no trace of him anywhere. He covered his tracks well." Misaki lowered her gaze to the ground beneath her feet, feeling her anger swell deep inside of her gut. Sasuke had idolized Itachi, even going so far as to say that he wanted to be exactly like him when he was grown. That kind of betrayal is unforgivable. Thinking of Sasuke, her anger morphed into pity. She knew how he felt, and it was a pain that would always be with him.

"So, try to be easy on Sasuke and avoid the topic of the incident at school, huh?"

Misaki asked no more questions about that night, only nodded and readied herself for another grueling training session. A rigorous training session didn't stop the bad feeling in her gut, however.

…..

When Sasuke returned to the academy, it was obvious that the experience had changed him. Knowing better than to approach him, Misaki just let him be. It was probably one of the best things that she could do for him. The brooding demeanor that came with Sasuke's tragic experience was apparently attractive to a majority of the female population. Every day that passed, more and more girls were drawn to him, including Ino and Sakura. Naruto grew jealous of the brooding boy, and soon a rivalry between the two was birthed. In any other circumstance, Misaki would have found the situation amusing but she only felt more pity for the boy. The last thing that he wanted was attention, she could tell. Maybe one day he would return to his old self.

Maybe one day.

**A/N**: Graduation will most likely be in the next one, along with a sneak peak of some of Misaki's new skills that she's gained from her training. :) Review and let me know what you think!


	8. Chapter 8

**DISCLAIMER**: I don't own Naruto or it's character, nor the canon plot. Enjoy!

**A/N**: Graduation time! :) Thanks to all the people who have been supportive. It means a lot. :) Longest chapter so far!

"Okay, let's see it."

Misaki smirked in glee as she formed the respective hand signs that her jutsu required. Hare, Tiger, Rat, Serpent, Horse. "Water Release: Evaporation!" Yuito-sensei watched with satisfaction as Misaki's form dissolved into small water droplets, and sped across the training grounds. When she reached her destination and reformed, he nodded in content.

"You've been practicing."

Misaki snickered as she made her way back to her sensei's side, Miki trailing closely behind her. "You'd kill me if I didn't, sensei."

Misaki had definitely hit a growth spurt a few years back. She had grown taller, taller than Naruto by several inches which was something that she dangled over his head often. In a playful manner, of course. She had grown fond of Naruto over the course of their academy years, even if he was a bit…. Eccentric. But she supported him all the same. Her hair had grown out about four inches past her shoulders. She had taken to tying her hair up during training sessions and sparring matches so that it wouldn't get in her way. Her wardrobe had changed to better suit a kunoichi of Konoha, as well. She had exchanged her pants for a black skirt and fishnet leggings. It allowed better mobility and flexibility, both of which are important to shinobi. She had replaced her old top with a deep red one-shoulder blouse. The only sleeve the shirt had fell loose around her arm, ending just above wrist. It kept her cool in the Konoha heat, which had been unbearable lately. Her top and her skirt were held together by a thin rope that ran around her hips and tied behind her back. She retained her old habit of wearing sandals. The ensemble was comfortable and fit her well.

Misaki untied the ribbon from her hair, allowing it to fall back around her shoulders. She wrapped the ribbon around her visible wrist, and tied it, leaving it there for future use. Her sensei chuckled before he realized something that he had forgotten. "Speaking of which, have you also been working on your Clone Technique?"

His student nodded, determined, as she performed the Ram, Snake, and Tiger hand seals. Looking back at him was not only one of his students, but four of them. Yuito nodded when he was content with how long Misaki could hold the jutsu, and she returned to her own form in a small puff of smoke. He noticed that she was short of breath, but it was expected. She had used a majority of her chakra during that day's training session.

"Alright, I'll let you go for the day. Work on your Jolt jutsu, and I expect you to ace your test tomorrow."

Misaki bowed in her sensei's direction, and sent him a quick salute when she returned to her full height. "Sir."

In a puff of smoke, Yuito was gone. Misaki wiped the sweat from her brow, and led herself out of the training grounds towards home.

…..

"Mom! I told Shikamaru and Chōji I'd meet them for dinner today, so you don't have to worry about making me anything."

Katsuko was startled when the voice of her adoptive daughter reached her ears. She was used to Misaki sneaking up on her, but it always caught her off guard. Misaki always got a kick out of it, however. When Katsuko regained the breath that had left her, she turned to face the girl standing behind her. Misaki was incredibly amused, straining to hide her smile. Unsuccessfully.

"Okay, Misaki. Could you not sneak up on me like that?"

It was the same answer every time, but Misaki never followed through with what she told her exasperated guardian. "Sure. Dad at work?"

Katsuko nodded in confirmation before returning to the task of preparing dinner. Glancing around, Misaki noticed something missing. "Where's Ikuto?"

"He went out. Playing with some friends."

When it had been time for Ikuto to choose where he was going to go to school, he had chosen the civilian academy, which greatly surprised his older sister. The young boy had always expressed interest in the ways of shinobi, so it was a mystery why he had chosen to walk the opposite path. Misaki had never asked him about his decision, however. She figured it was something that he would talk about when he was ready.

She nodded before heading back to the front door. "Bye, Mom!"

"Bye! Don't be too late! You've got a test tomorrow!"

Telling her mom what she wanted to hear before shutting the door, Misaki started on the path to Ichiraku's, Miki propped up on her exposed shoulder.

…..

"Sorry, guys. I was held up."

"Yeah, yeah. We've heard that before. What a drag."

Shikamaru lazily slouched in his seat, an uneaten bowl of ramen positioned in front him. Chōji was already on his third bowl, when he looked up to greet her. "Sorry, Missy. I couldn't wait."

Most of the friends that she had made in the academy had taken to calling her "Missy" for short. It didn't bother her in the slightest. She found it endearing to know that she had a nickname.

"It's alright, Chōji. You'll just make it up to me by paying for my meal."

He looked disappointed, but agreed anyway as Misaki's order was placed in front of her and she started to eat. Misaki was definitely grateful that he had agreed, she hadn't brought any money to pay for her meal in the first place. She wasn't going to let him know that, however.

"You guys ready for the exam tomorrow?"

Finishing a bite of his ramen, Shikamaru lazily shrugged his slouched shoulders. "It's been a drag to train for, but I think I'm ready."

"My sensei gave me a tip-off on the exam. He said something about clones."

Chōji never faltered in stuffing his face as he answered. "Naruto's going to flip when he finds out what the test is."

Misaki pushed her empty bowl to the side as she propped her elbows up on the countertop. Unfortunately, it was true. Naruto had always stated that the Clone technique was his worst one. She had tried to help him with it, and even though he had gotten a tad bit better at performing it, it was still pitiful. With Naruto's mindset, however, she knew that he never stopped trying until he got the job done. With that in mind, she believed Naruto would do fine on the exam to become a Genin. That same day, Naruto had skipped class, apparently to vandalize the Hokage Monument. When Iruka-sensei brought him back to class, he had goofed off and deliberately failed the Transformation exam using his 'Sexy Jutsu' that he had created. He was a goofball, but if there was one thing that Naruto didn't lack, it was spirit.

"I'm sure he'll be fine. When he's truly determined, Naruto doesn't stop until he gets the job done. Plus, I don't think Naruto would be able to live with himself if he failed the Genin exam and Sasuke passed."

On that, they could all three agree.

…..

"Naruto, please don't goof off today. If you fail, you don't become a ninja."

"Yeah, yeah, Missy. I get it. I'm gonna ace this test, believe it!"

Misaki sent him an encouraging smile before she was called into the separate room for the exam. Leaving Miki in the waiting room with the other students, she timidly stepped into the large room. This exam was different from the others, though. Not only were the students required to perform the Clone Technique in front of several Chunin instructors, but the Hokage himself, as well. It made her feel nervous, and she hoped it wouldn't have an effect on her jutsu.

She bowed in the Hokage's direction when she came to stand in front of him. "Misaki Tsukino. It's been a while. Whenever you're ready please produce three clones and maintain them as long as you can." The Hokage smiled encouragingly as she performed the hand signs required for the Clone Technique. To be honest, this technique wasn't exactly her forte either. She could achieve several of them, but she wasn't satisfied with how long she could maintain them. She was much more accustomed to Water Clones.

Misaki felt the three Clones appear behind her, and she shut her eyes, concentrating on maintaining the jutsu as long as she was able. When she felt that she could no longer hold it, she released the jutsu and let loose the breath she had been holding. She opened her eyes and glanced to the judges before her, hopeful. Mizuki-sensei looked encouraging as Misaki waited for Iruka-sensei to finish up the notes that he was writing. She inhaled in anticipation as her sensei looked up from the parchment before him.

"You should work on maintaining the jutsu for longer periods of time, but it was satisfactory. You pass!"

Misaki released the breath she hadn't realized that she was holding in relief. Passing this exam was a great weight off of her shoulders. The Hokage looked pleased as he smiled in her direction and nodded. She returned his small smile with one of her own and stepped forward when Iruka-sensei beckoned her. She saw that he held a ninja headband, her ninja headband, within his grasp. Placing herself in front of her sensei, she allowed him to tie the headband around her forehead. "Congratulations, Misaki. You're now a Genin."

Misaki swelled with pride as she vocalized her gratitude, bowed, and left the room in a rush. Returning to the waiting room, she was congratulated by several other students as Miki hopped back up to her place on Misaki's shoulder. Katsuko had long since convinced the school that having Miki with Misaki kept her morale up, and she wasn't over exaggerating. Misaki had called Miki her "little cheerleader" several times in the past. They had finally allowed her to bring her pet to class, to which Misaki was grateful. If Inuzuka was allowed to have Akamaru with him, then she sure as hell was going to have Miki with her. She was planning on learning jutsu to incorporate Miki, anyway.

Speak of the devil and he shall appear.

When Misaki noticed the boy eyeballing her headband, she smirked and slowly started to approach him. When they noticed each other, Miki let loose a long hiss, and Akamaru growled slowly. Miki and Akamaru had been introduced one afternoon when the dog had spotted her trailing behind her master and quickly rushed at her. Miki was startled and took off running to escape the hound. It was a couple of hours before each of the masters had gotten a hold of their pets. The feud between the two pets had caused a rivalry between the two masters. Misaki enjoyed the "frienemy" relationship that they held. It was entertaining to her. It wasn't that she disliked Kiba, he was her friend like any of the other students, but she was allowed to have someone to compete with.

"Inuzuka."

The boy before her matched her smirk with one of his own. "Tsukino."

She tapped the headband on her forehead with the tip of her fingernail before allowing her smirk to widen. "How does it look?"

"It'll look better on me." Kiba's comment was followed by a small bark from Akamaru, but was rewarded with a growl from Miki.

Misaki scoffed and took her leave from the boy, heading back to a group of students that were waiting off to the side. Misaki and Kiba would most likely always find a reason to compete, be it a big motivation or a little one. Hinata was with the group, still very much the same in appearance. The only noticeable changes were a wardrobe change and she had gotten taller. She had also completed the exam and passed, a ninja headband of her own tied around her neck. The two kunoichi each offered their congratulations when Misaki reached the group of students. Naruto also offered his congratulations to the two girls, earning a blush from Hinata.

A commotion from across the room gained Misaki's attention as she watched Sasuke emerge from the testing room. A majority of the girls in the room became starry-eyed as they watched him take his seat at a desk, a headband covering his forehead. Misaki rolled her eyes and Naruto growled as they listened to Sakura and Ino argue over who was going to go tell him congratulations first. When he slowly opened his eyes to glance over at Naruto and Misaki, she sent him a small, barely noticeable nod. He hadn't responded in any way, but she figured that it was the best that she could do.

Misaki watched as Shino, Sakura, and Chōji all walked out of the testing room individually with ninja headbands of their own. Eventually, Naruto was the only one left. Misaki found herself nervously eating away at her nails as she waited with the other students for Naruto to appear from the testing room. When he did, to say he looked enraged would be an understatement.

Plus, he didn't have a headband.

Before Misaki could reach him, he had stormed out of the classroom and disappeared. She would have to talk to him later. Iruka-sensei eventually emerged from the exam room himself, congratulating those that had made it to Genin level. When he noticed Naruto was missing, he hadn't gotten angry like he usually did when the goofball missed class. A look of guilt passed his face, along with self-doubt and pity.

Iruka-sensei all ushered us to the top of the Hokage Monument for the last part of our initiation: the vow. When students were officially made ninja, they were required to recite a vow that stated that they served the Hokage and The Leaf. The newborn ninja were all lined up, shoulder-to-shoulder, and fell to their knees to recount the words of the vow.

"I will carry out the wishes of the Lord Hokage without question and without grievance. If my life need be extinguished to preserve his, the well-being of the Leaf, or the survival of its citizens, then I will gladly give it. Such is the way of the Leaf Shinobi."

Iruka-sensei announced that we would meet at the academy again tomorrow to be split up into teams before dismissing us.

It was time to go home.

**A/N**: This chapter was pretty long, and I enjoyed writing it! I hope you liked it! If you have any tips, ideas, or questions, please review and let me know what they are! :)


	9. Chapter 9

**DISCLAIMER**: I do not own Naruto and its characters, nor the canon plot. I hope you guys enjoy!

**Author's Note**: Sorry that this chapter is so late, guys! I've been super busy with school (I just started college) and I finally had time to update! I've been getting used to the flow of assignments and such, so be assured that the updates will come much faster than this one! Love you guys and I hope you enjoy this chapter! Team assignments!

"Smile!"

"Mom, is this really necessary?"

"Yes! You made Genin! We have to have a picture to look back on the moment!"

Misaki sighed and rolled her eyes as her mother and father placed themselves on either side of her, her little brother squatting down in front of her. Yuito-sensei stood behind the camera, waiting until everyone was positioned correctly and smiling before he snapped the photo with a quick flash. Afterwards, Katsuko insisted that Misaki take one with her sensei as well, and worked to get the two pictures developed and framed. Misaki sat in her room that night smiling softly at the two new photos on her dresser, her new ninja headband placed neatly between them.

She was proud of herself. She started out having no aspiration or desire to become a ninja, but had made it this far anyway. Not many people did, even if it was their wish to be a shinobi.

That included Naruto.

She thought about how he must have been feeling at that moment. When she saw him exit the testing room earlier that day, he had looked enraged but she could also see a hint of something else. Humiliation or dissatisfaction, one of the two. Perhaps both.

Misaki settled in for the night, her covers tucked around her and her eyes shut firmly, and drifted off to sleep.

...

Misaki shot up from her warm bed when she heard the hawk cry out.

One, two, three, four, five...

Five cries. It was a Yellow, calling for all Jounin and Chunin. She wasn't needed for security, but she was curious all the same. Hearing the urgent calls outside of her window from civilians and shinobi alike, Misaki quickly and quietly dressed, tied her headband around her bed head, and slipped from her second story window.

On the ground below, she halted a ninja that she didn't recognize, clutching him softly by the arm. She had to know what was going on, a Yellow was a pretty serious security alert. "What's going on?"

"It's him! He's stolen the sacred scroll! Monster!"

The unknown ninja shook her off and shoved her to the side while she processed what she had just heard. With rising panic, Misaki fled in the direction of the Hokage's office.

...

"Lord Hokage!" Misaki pounded on the ornate double doors that led to the Hokage's refuge. Her panic was constant, and she needed answers. It was about a minute before the door was opened, revealing the Hokage's grim face. When he saw who urgently pounded on his door, he sighed and slowly allowed her entry.

Misaki strode in and began pacing while the Hokage took his seat at his desk, folding his hands under his chin calmly. He listened patiently when she began speaking. "Lord Hokage, was it Naruto?"

Misaki knew what the answer was going to be before she had even asked. Naruto had a way of getting himself into these kind of situations. "I'm afraid so."

Hearing the verification from the Hokage himself, though... It was different.

The distressed girl bowed in appreciation and respect and headed to the door before she was halted by the Hokage's firm voice. "Please do not go after him. I have my best on the job." Misaki turned to face the old man again, a soft sigh falling from her lips. He continued when he saw the truly worried look on the young girl's face. "Naruto will be fine. I am sure this is all just a misunderstanding. He would never place the village in danger like this if he wasn't manipulated into doing it by an outside source. Naruto is nothing if not naïve."

The words coming from the Hokage's mouth reassured her a bit. He was asking her to place her faith in her childhood friend, and she found herself doing exactly that. In situations concerning the mischievous blonde, the Hokage had never been wrong. Naruto had gotten this far with an unbelievably strong will, even if nobody had a chance to see it. He would surely come out of this unscathed.

"Thank you, Lord Hokage."

The old man responded with a smile and a nod. The young girl, now reasonably calmed, exited the room and started to quickly jog back to her residence.

...

Crawling back in her window, Misaki widened her eyes at the sight of a couple of very unhappy parents. She was forced to sit and listen as they scolded her, and much to her protest, grounding her for a week. They didn't change their mind after getting the whole story like Misaki thought they would, they were rock solid. When her parents finally left the room in a foul mood, Misaki took off her headband and changed back into her pajamas, her head hitting the pillow soon after.

She didn't sleep until the noises outside we're relieved instead of urgent.

Oooh, Naruto was going to get it.

...

Having slept through her mother's wake up calls due to her late night, Misaki was already having a bad day. She was rushed in getting ready, leaving her looking cranky and disheveled. She grabbed breakfast for herself and Miki, and hurried out the door.

Reaching the academy in record time, Misaki opened the door to her classroom to receive a few giggles at her appearance. Misaki threw her half-eaten breakfast away and sent glares at the students she knew had laughed at her before she started towards her assigned seat. Luckily, Iruka-sensei still had not arrived for the morning.

She halted in her path when she heard his voice.

"Missy, look!" She turned quickly to search for the owner of the voice, and was met by a mop of bright blonde hair. Instead of his usual goggles, he wore a Konoha headband. He was a ninja?

What exactly had happened last night?

She was excited for him, but all she could think about at that moment was how much that he had made her worry. And she had gotten grounded for a week!

Naruto's overjoyed expression faded away when he noticed that the girl in front of him didn't match his demeanor. "Uh, Missy? You okay?"

Naruto's question was answered with a hard slap to the back of his head. "Do I look okay?" The boy cringed and rubbed the back of his head softly, curious but also annoyed.

"What was that for?!"

When the grumpy girl realized that there were people listening to their exchange, she pulled Naruto to a more private part of the classroom. When they were out of earshot of the other Genin, Misaki began. "You stole the sacred scroll?"

Naruto laughed nervously when her question processed, reaching up to sheepishly scratch the back of his head. "Heh, yeah. Uh, who told you that?"

Misaki crossed her arms, Miki seated patiently and quietly at her master's feet. "The Hokage."

Naruto's eyes widened and he promptly shot off into an explanation. Misaki was curious and wanted to hear the whole story. "Well, after I walked out of the academy yesterday, I went to one of the training grounds. After training for a while, Mizuki-sensei found me and told me that there was another way to become a Genin."

Misaki narrowed her eyes in suspicion.

"He told me to steal the sacred scroll and meet him at a place in the forest." Naruto grew red-faced and angry just retelling the events. "But it was all a trap. He wanted to take the scroll and leave for a other village. Iruka-sensei saved me, but then I saved him!"

"How?"

"By using the really cool new jutsu that I learned from the scroll!" Misaki warned Naruto that he was getting a little loud, so he continued in a whisper. "It's called the Shadow Clone. I summoned hundreds of myself! Not just illusions, real clones! It was awesome!"

Accepting the story, she shook her head in exasperation but smiled all the same. Naruto had never given her any rest and probably never would.

Saying farewell to Naruto for the time being, Misaki headed to her seat next to Hinata, waiting patiently for Iruka-sensei to arrive. She was curious about who they had teamed her with. Most of the students in the classroom were nearly asleep due to having nothing to occupy themselves with. Naruto was wide awake, Hinata was awake, Chōji was awake eating, Sasuke was awake, Ino was awake along with Sakura and a few other Sasuke fangirls, but everyone else seemed to be dozing off.

Misaki watched as Naruto and Sasuke squared off at each other, probably having something to do with Naruto's undeniable crush on Sakura, who was obviously obsessed with the broody Uchiha. The fangirls, led by Ino and Sakura, tried their hardest to get a hold of Naruto, probably to physically hurt him for even daring to challenge their precious Sasuke.

When Naruto was bumped from behind and sent hurling into Sasuke allowing their lips to meet, Misaki couldn't help but laugh out loud. The two boys were clearly nauseated as the fangirls grabbed Naruto and beat him within an inch of his life. Any efforts that Misaki had to stop them, we're halted when Iruka-sensei finally decided to enter the room. Rushing back to her seat, Miki curled up on her desk, she awaited assignment.

"Okay, it took some serious thought but I've finally figured out who I want on what team. Due to unexpected events -" Iruka-sensei's eyes fell on Naruto's beaten form before scanning the rest of the classroom "- one of the teams will have four members instead of three."

Misaki straightened in anticipation as he started to read off the teams. "Team seven will be Sakura Haruno -"

Misaki saw the pink-haired kunoichi send a look to Iruka-sensei, to the brooding Uchiha, and back to Iruka-sensei.

" - Naruto Uzumaki - " The blonde boy cheered in joy as Sakura growled in fury.

" - Sasuke Uchiha - " As Sakura cheered and Naruto pouted, Misaki saw Sasuke open his eyes in annoyance. She heard him mumble something like "Just don't get in my way," to the blonde boy next to him before returning her gaze to the teacher at the front of the classroom.

" - and Misaki Tsukino." Naruto cheered when he heard his friend's name called, but she still looked pretty ticked that he had been teamed up with his ultimate rival.

As Naruto ranted to the exhausted teacher at the front of the room, Misaki's head fell to her desk with a loud thump.

Naruto, Sakura, Sasuke, and her teamed together?

Was she ever going to catch a break?

...

When all of the teams were assembled: Team Seven - Sakura Haruno, Naruto Uzumaki, Sasuke Uchiha, and Misaki Tsukino, Team Eight - Shino Aburame, Hinata Hyūga, Kiba Inuzuka, and Akamaru, and Team Nine - Shikamaru Nara, Chōji Akimichi, and Ino Yamanaka, Iruka-sensei assigned Jounin to each team to act as team leader.

Team Seven was to be led by Kakashi Hatake. The corners of Misaki's lips upturned at the name, remembering the part that the man had played in her induction to the Leaf Village. Over the course of the years she had spent in the Leaf, she had heard tales of the Copy Ninja Kakashi, his heroics, and his talent. These tales were mostly told by Yuito-sensei after training, as he always told her stories about the Leaf and the people who occupied the village. He was part of the reason that she aspired to be a ninja when she was only a young child, and she was both eager and honored to be a part of his team. She wondered if he remembered her at all. Team Eight was to be led by Kurenai Yūhi, and Team Nine was to be led Asuma Sarutobi.

Most of the other groups had disappeared from the room, led away by the sensei that had been assigned to them. Unfortunately, an hour and a half after Kakashi was supposed to meet up with Team Seven, Misaki, Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura still waited for him. He had been so late in turning up that Iruka-sensei had eventually grown restless and left them in the classroom to wait for him by themselves. Misaki thrummed her pale fingers against the desk in front of her in a controlled beat, willing her frustration to recede. She wasn't a patient person, and after two hours of waiting for their sensei to collect them, she wasn't exactly in her right state of mind.

Naruto, who hasn't been able to sit still for anything in his entire life, walked around the room messing with anything he could get his hands on. Sasuke sat calmly at the desk in front of her, his hands folded tightly under his chin. Misaki was ultimately surprised that he hasn't snapped at Sakura already, who was undeniably invading his personal space and talking his ear off. Misaki was observant enough to catch the little jealous glares that Naruto would send the two of them when he thought nobody was looking. She didn't despise Sakura, but Misaki wasn't overly fond of the way she treated Naruto. He did everything he could possibly do to impress her, excite her, or simply make her happy, but she just insulted him in return. Misaki was going to make sure that it stopped. They would never work well as a team if there were always feelings hurt, who's bruised, or jealous skirmishes.

Misaki softly ran her thumb over her sleeping cat's head, and watched as Naruto propped an eraser over the slightly open door, all the while giggling to himself. The silver-haired girl was surprised when she heard Sasuke scoff in front of her. It was the first sound he had made since they were told to wait for Kakashi.

"You're an idiot if you think a Jounin is going to fall for any stupid tricks of yours."

If Naruto and Sasuke were in the same room, a fight was inevitable, it seemed.

Misaki rolled her eyes and shook her head in exasperation as Naruto glared at the boy who had offended him. "Just because you don't like to have any fun doesn't mean I can't, Sasuke!" It was at this point that Sakura had joined in on the argument, defending Sasuke, as always. Plugging her ears and staying silent because she knew it would do no good to tell them to quit arguing, Misaki waited for the fight to subside.

When Misaki heard footsteps in the hallway outside of the door, she stood up from her desk and loudly shushed the three Genin who were arguing below her.

"Shhh! Listen! I hear something!"

"You'll never be as cool as Sasuke is, Naruto, and you know it!"

"Sasuke isn't cool! He barely even talks unless it's to brag on himself!"

"Whatever."

"I SAID SHUT THE HELL UP!"

The three of them hushed immediately. Even Sasuke's eyes had widened a bit, she realized with pride. With the silence that spread throughout the room, they could hear the footsteps echoing outside clearly. They came to a sudden stop when they were heard outside of the door, and Naruto was bouncing on the heels of his feet with excitement.

Misaki watched as a hand reached out to wrap around the edge of the door, pulling it open. When the very familiar Jounin stepped inside the classroom, the eraser that Naruto had propped on the door fell and landed with a small puff on the tuff of silvery hair that sat atop Kakashi-sensei's head. She tried to stifle her giggle as Naruto burst in boisterous laughter, barely having enough air to speak. "I can't believe you fell for that!"

The only eye that was visible on Kakashi's face slightly narrowed in annoyance. "My first impression of this group is that you're all idiots."

Naruto hushed as the group glared in affront at the calm and collected Jounin, his hands crossed firmly across his chest. Misaki heard Sasuke scoff and Naruto growl before Kakashi-sensei continued to speak. "Listen, I'm feeling a little hungry. Go eat lunch and meet me on the roof of the academy in an hour."

Without another word, Kakashi-sensei turned to exit the room as quickly as he had come.

Misaki realized that her team was probably the most dysfunctional team that had ever existed in Konoha.

Wanting to see if her new sensei had recognized her, she woke Miki who hopped up to her shoulder, gathered her bag, and swiftly exited the room to catch up with Kakashi. When she reached him, she tapped him quickly on the shoulder. Turning around to face her, Misaki was unsurprised to find that his nose was in a book. When she began to speak, his gaze shifted to her. "You remember me, Kakashi-sensei?"

Misaki started to feel stupid when he didn't answer. "Remember? You brought me to the village when I was really young. My parents had been killed by thieves."

Recognition flashed through his visible eye when he processed what she had said. "Ah. Yes. Misaku, right?"

The silver-haired girl sighed deeply. "Misaki."

"Oh, my mistake. I see you still have that thing."

Miki hissed in anger when Kakashi pointed at her propped on Misaki's shoulder.

"Yeah, I don't go anywhere without her. Well, I just wanted to see if you remembered me. I'm glad I was placed on your squad."

Kakashi nodded in gratitude as Misaki waved and left to meet Naruto at Ichiraku's.

**Author's Note**: I really hope you enjoyed this chapter! Let me know what you think or if you have any ideas or questions. Next chapter should be out soon, I've already started on it! :)


	10. Chapter 10

**DISCLAIMER**: I don't own Naruto or its characters, nor the canon plot.

**Author's Not****e**: Here's the next chapter! I really hope you enjoy!

"Let's start with introductions."

"What do you want to know?"

"Your names, likes, dislikes, maybe a hobby, dreams for the future. Just generalities."

Sakura narrowed her eyes at Kakashi-sensei before anyone in the group had a chance to start off. "You introduce yourself first, Kakashi-sensei."

Kakashi hummed softly before raising his right hand to his chin in thought. "Well, my name is Kakashi Hatake. I don't really feel like telling you my likes or dislikes. Hobbies... Hmm..."

A picture of that stupid little orange book that he always shoved his face into floated through Misaki's thoughts.

"I haven't really thought about my dreams for the future."

The silence that followed Kakashi's introduction was swiftly broken by a half amused, half exasperated Misaki. "You literally told us nothing that we didn't already know about you."

Kakashi-sensei shrugged before pointing to Naruto. "Your turn."

"My name is Naruto Uzumaki, believe it! I like ramen - no - love ramen! I dislike the time it takes ramen to cook..."

Naruto thought for a second in silence before he continued his introduction. "My dream for the future is to become the next Hokage! That way everyone will stop treating me like a nobody and respect me!"

Misaki could faintly hear Sasuke scoff before she realized that it was her turn to introduce herself. "Uh... Well, my name is Misaki Tsukino but you guys already know that. This is Miki." Miki meowed softly when she heard her name mentioned. Misaki heard a grunt from Kakashi-sensei's direction. "I like to train and run. I dislike change - or more importantly - when people change. For the worst, I mean. I'm not really sure about my dreams for the future yet."

Kakashi-sensei nodded and turned to the silent Uchiha. "Your turn."

Without looking up from the ground, Sasuke began. "My name is Sasuke Uchiha. I dislike many things and I don't particularly like anything." Misaki rolled her eyes. "It's not a dream, but an ambition. I want to resurrect my clan and kill a certain someone."

Misaki faintly heard Naruto mumble from next to her. "He better not mean me."

An eerie silence passed between each member of the group before Kakashi continued like nothing had transpired. "Now it's your turn."

"My name is Sakura Haruno. I like..." Sakura snuck a peek at the Uchiha that sat on her left, his eyes closed and his hands folded under his chin, like always. "Uh, my dreams for the future are..." Sakura giggled as Misaki sighed and shook her head. She was certainly not being subtle. "Oh! And I dislike NARUTO!"

Naruto yelped in shock, and a bickering match quickly followed Sakura's confession. The group quickly hushed when Kakashi-sensei mentioned that they would be starting their shinobi duties as early as the next day.

"What will we be doing?!" Naruto was beaming in excitement. Even Sasuke has raised his eyes from the concrete in interest.

"It's a survival exercise, including just the four of us." Miki meowed from her perch on Misaki's shoulder, affronted. "Five."

"Training?!"

"We've spent years training, we want a mission!"

Misaki could see that Kakashi looked slightly annoyed, but he seemed more smug than anything. "This isn't the type of training that you had in the academy. I'm your opponent this time."

Misaki glanced at her teammates and back at Kakashi-sensei before speaking. "And?"

The Jounin looked like he was having an internal debate with himself, but looked amused at the same time. "Of the twenty-eight graduates of the academy, only ten are going to be chosen to become Genin. The rest of the students are being sent back to the academy."

"You've got to be kidding me!"

If this was a joke, it wasn't a very good one. Misaki had worked hard and had been so proud of herself when she had passed and became a Genin. Now she had more tests?

"Then what was the test for?!"

The rest of her team looked just as angry, if not more angry, than Misaki felt. If she failed - if any of them failed - they would have to work years back in the academy just to get back to where they were now.

"As you know, not just anyone is accepted to be a ninja. A Jounin is required to evaluate every capable student to see if they are ready for the next step."

Misaki sighed, knowing that there was nothing she could do to change the rules. "When and where are we meeting tomorrow?"

Kakashi passed out a piece of paper. On it were details of the mission, and a liability statement, saying that it wasn't the academy's fault if any of the students were harmed. "We're meeting at the training grounds by the east gate at 5:30 in the morning."

When his young students agreed, he dismissed them for the day. Before they were able to leave the roof of the academy, he halted them. "Oh, and don't eat breakfast unless you want to throw up."

...

"You have a test too?"

"Yes. Kurenai-sensei spoke about one but she said that it wouldn't be too difficult."

Misaki scoffed and slurped down the rest of her tea. "Lucky you. Kakashi-sensei said that ours was gonna be hard."

Hinata gave Misaki a pitying look, sipping her own tea all the while. "I wish we were on a squad together."

"Yeah. Me too."

Misaki had always loved coming to the Hyūga compound. Their training grounds were spacious, perfect for Taijutsu training. Not to mention, Hinata made some of the best tea that Misaki had ever tasted.

Stroking her cat's head, Misaki was startled when the somber moment was interrupted by a deep, controlled voice. "Hinata, it's time for training."

Looking left past Hinata, Misaki saw Hiashi standing there, arms crossed.

"Yes, Father. I will see Misaki off."

The man nodded and started back to where he came. When Misaki was sure he was out of listening range, she turned to send a sly smile to her quiet friend. "I'll never get over how good-looking your dad is, Hinata."

Misaki laughed loudly when she received a good-natured punch following her comment.

...

Misaki was extremely late. She was supposed to be home by 2, it now being 3, and she knew the punishment would not be welcome. She was grounded, after all, and not supposed to be hanging out with friends anyways.

Misaki was halted in her path when Sasuke ran past her in a hurry, clutching his stomach and groaning. She scratched her head in confusion, but he was gone before she could stop him. Shrugging her slender shoulders, she started a brisk jog back home, Miki on her heels.

...

"Wake up, Misaki! It's 4:30, you have to meet your team in an hour!"

Misaki groaned and sat up in her bed, cursing Kakashi-sensei for making her get up so early. She was more concerned for her teammates though, having to put up with her grumpiness so early in the morning. She was not pleasant in the morning.

After Misaki had cleaned up for the day, dressed, and gathered weapons and supplies required for training, she wandered downstairs to see that her mother was the only one up. Katsuko gave a soft giggle when she saw the disgruntled look on her adoptive daughter's face. "Try not to bite anyone's head off today."

Misaki huffed and yawned deeply as Miki wound her way around her master's feet. Misaki declined the offer of food, remembering Kakashi's words, and left through the front door after saying her goodbyes.

...

"Looks like I'm the first one here."

Misaki hummed thoughtfully as she studied her surroundings. The east training ground was densely wooded, perfect for survival training. The clear spot in the middle of the ground, where Misaki and Miki currently stood, was the only spot that wasn't drowning in trees and brush. Deciding that she might be waiting for a while, Misaki started her stretch routine.

...

Misaki had long since finished her stretch routine, and Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura had all shown up looking groggy and grumpy.

Misaki was the one to start conversation. "So... What do you think he's gonna have us do?"

Naruto and Sakura just shrugged, while Sasuke scoffed and gave the three of them a glare. "All I know is that you three better stay out of my way. I have to pass this test, and I don't need any more obstacles."

That was it.

She was tired of his pride.

Misaki quickly strode forward to come face-to-face with Sasuke. He looked up at her, uninterested. Sakura and Naruto looked surprised at the anger that had overcome her so quickly.

"We're a team, Sasuke! Do you have any idea what that means?!"

"It means I'll just have more people in my way."

Miki growled from Misaki's covered shoulder, while her master sent her broody teammate a fearsome glare. They had to work together as a team to be successful. It was the root of all Konoha custom.

"You know that teamwork is what the Leaf is all about!"

She could tell that Sasuke was starting to get angry. He uncrossed his arms and stood straighter, returning her glare. "How would you know, outsider? You're not from Konoha. You shouldn't be allowed to be a shinobi of the Leaf."

Oh, she wanted so badly to just punch him and send him flying. Maybe he would change his mind about her being allowed to be a shinobi. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Naruto approaching, anger clear in his eyes and his hands tightened into fists. Before he reached Sasuke, Misaki stopped him, blocking his path with her arm.

"Naruto, no. It's not worth it."

"Missy, he just called you an outsider! You should want to knock him into next week!"

Misaki was more sad now than she was angry. Sasuke would never have said these things to her when they were young children. The whole tragedy with his clan and his brother had completely warped him. She missed the way he used to be.

"He's just angry at the world, Naruto. Let's drop it."

She could tell he was still visibly angry, but Naruto sent one last glare at the Uchiha before walking away. Sakura looked angry, as well, but more angry at Misaki for challenging her beloved. Misaki willed her enraged expression away, and once more looked at the raven-haired boy that stood in front of her.

"I'm sorry, Sasuke."

Misaki could tell that Sasuke was a little surprised that she had apologized, but his face quickly masked shock with uninterest. Without another word, he crossed his arms back over his chest and and looked to the ground. The rest of the wait for Kakashi took place in silence.

Unknown to the four Genin, a certain silver-haired Jounin sat hidden in a tree watching the group with growing curiosity.

**Author's Note**: Sorry about this one being short, but I feel like this was the best stopping point for this chapter. The next one will be out soon! Let me know what you think, or if you have any ideas! :)


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